Yeah, normally I'd agree with you here. But after reading all the threads on avsforum for both the 2012 models of Panasonic and Samsung, it's probably going to take my own eyes to make some sort of judgement.

I think the best thing to do right now is just wait a bit longer for the dust to settle and see what the professional calibrators have to say. Patience isn't always easy for me.

So far, it looks like Panasonic has the darker blacks, and less reflective screen, but Samsung has a sharper and clearer picture.

One person who had both, set them up side by side, and said his whole family preferred the Samsung over the Panasonic. Panasonic had some ghosting issues that were impossible to adjust away.

You definitely can not trust your eyes in most retail stores, especially the big box ones. Many stores adjust TV settings to influence what models they wish to move that week or month. This is not hearsay or assumption. This is very much common practice.

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With great power comes Awesome irresponsibility.